{"id":24313,"date":"2024-08-20T03:32:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-20T07:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=24313"},"modified":"2024-08-20T04:22:53","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T08:22:53","slug":"school-or-not-a-school-proposed-brick-home-school-facility-draws-questions-from-neighbors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2024\/08\/school-or-not-a-school-proposed-brick-home-school-facility-draws-questions-from-neighbors\/","title":{"rendered":"School Or Not a School? Proposed Brick ‘Home-School’ Facility Draws Questions From Neighbors"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Testimony<\/a>

Testimony in front of the Brick Township Zoning Board of Adjustment in the matter of the Liberty School Association. (Supplied Photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

A proposal to utilize an existing church in a residential neighborhood to house a facility that would allow home-schooled children to learn communally continues to face significant objections from residents, and the case will not be heard before the township\u2019s zoning board again until October.<\/p>\n

The Liberty School Association, created by Rebeka Snegon, a township resident who had previously attempted to house the facility elsewhere without obtaining zoning approval, would operate out of the Fellowship Chapel of the Jersey Shore, located at 170 Duchess Lane. The church property is surrounded by blocks of residential homes, leading neighbors to object to the proposal out of fear not only of additional traffic and activity in their neighborhood, but the potential for a school use to be permanently approved for the building. In theory, a significantly larger school could open in the space should the building be sold to a new owner in the future with little in the way of legal hurdles.<\/p>\n

The basic land use questions regarding the school were largely secondary at a meeting last week to a lengthy discussion as to what, exactly, the Liberty School Association is. It is billed as a \u201cprivate membership association,\u201d however board members and professionals at the hearing seemed unclear as to what type of facility they were being asked to approve.<\/p>\n

\"Fellowship<\/a>

Fellowship Chapel, the site of a proposed school, at 170 Duchess Lane, Brick, N.J. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

Board Attorney Ronald Cucchiaro explained that private schools, religious schools, child care facilities and home-schooling all come with varying levels of regulation in New Jersey. While some school facilities require nurses, physical building features and certain licensed personnel to operate, home schooling is largely unregulated in the Garden State. Religious schools may fall somewhere in between, having to guarantee student safety but not subject to the same requirements as a non-religious private school. Home schooling, meanwhile, traditionally takes place in a residential home, while the Liberty School Association is seeking to operate out of a permanent location and has historically charged tuition.<\/p>\n

Snegon has wavered on the issue of tuition, and in previous documents never mentioned a religious component. At last week\u2019s hearing, however, Snegon testified before board members that the school follows a curriculum known as \u201cThe Good and the Beautiful\u201d<\/a> that can be formally purchased online, and incorporates Christian values into the school day.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t plan to be registered as a school, and the testimony that was provided earlier wasn\u2019t really a plan \u2013 has that changed?\u201d Cucchiaro asked.<\/p>\n

Snegon first testified that the school \u2013 termed a \u201chome schooling cooperative\u201d \u2013 would not charge tuition to its estimated 30 to 40 students whose ages range from kindergarten to eighth grade. But attorney Edward Liston, representing the neighboring homeowners, proffered a flyer from the 2022 school year with a tuition schedule and instructions indicating it was a \u201cnon-refundable fee\u201d that was \u201cdue along with a signed agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shorebeat has obtained a copy of that flyer and it is embedded below. More confusing, another document from Sept. 2022 (also embedded below) states that Liberty School Association is \u201cnot a home-school co-op or a typical private school.\u201d It also touts \u201chighly educated instructors.\u201d The association\u2019s attorney would later tell board members, however, that the school does not employ any staff members.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Screenshot<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Snegon testified that she earned a degree in forensic psychology from Southern New Hampshire University, but did not recall the year she graduated. She also testified that she had begun to study for a doctoral degree, but briefly forgot the name of the school she attended before referencing an online-based college.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe it was Capella University \u2013 it was an online school \u2013 it was a lot of work and there just wasn\u2019t enough time with three children and working full time,\u201d she said, under questioning from Liston.<\/p>\n

The question as to whether Liberty School Association would need to comply with private school or home-school regulations drifted into a discussion on tuition \u2013 a potential factor that could help determine the school\u2019s status \u2013 with representatives struggling to explain the concept. When asked if the school charged tuition, Snegon said some parents historically paid tuition and others did not, contrary to the requirement in the 2022 flyer. She said the school should not be judged based on requirements from 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to play with linguistics, I guess we could use that word, but it was not a forced requirement,\u201d she said of the concept of tuition. \u201cThere was a suggested amount, but not everybody paid the same amount.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snegon testified that some parents taught classes, others provided curriculum materials and other supported the association financially.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt costs money to run this,\u201d she said. \u201cOf course the parents need to contribute. Some just choose to contribute financially.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snegon said she intended to run the school based on New Jersey\u2019s requirements for home-schooling, which are minimal.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that we\u2019re facing conditions at the site, those would obviously create different situations than we had back then,\u201d she said, in reference to the 2022 flyer.<\/p>\n

The Liberty School Association will rely on parents to teach students in a group setting rather than in their own homes, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoms don\u2019t spontaneously grow more arms when they have children, they need help,\u201d said Snegon. \u201cSo this was a way for parents who have multiple children to get that help, and the kids liked it. They liked being together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my personal opinion, I didn\u2019t feel that sending my kids to public school was an option,\u201d she further explained. \u201cHaving them home all day wasn\u2019t fun for them, and there were other families who felt the same. We\u2019re volunteers. We don\u2019t draw paychecks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snegon also said that in addition to exemptions carved out for home-schooling, her association should be exempt from regulations that child care centers must follow in New Jersey. One of the exemptions under New Jersey state law applies to \u201ccenters for primarily religious instruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cucchiaro, the board attorney, said that if the facility was to be considered a home school cooperative, which is contemplated in state statutes, the traditional home-schooling policies would prevail.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike a private school or a public school, the state does not require that any [home school] teachers have any license or have any particular qualifications or background in order to be eligible to teach the students,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After hours of testimony, the issue was ultimately left up to board members to decide based on the exhibits presented to them, combined with the testimony.<\/p>\n

\"Fellowship<\/a>

Fellowship Chapel, the site of a proposed school, at 170 Duchess Lane, Brick, N.J. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Fellowship<\/a>

Fellowship Chapel, the site of a proposed school, at 170 Duchess Lane, Brick, N.J. (Photo: Shorebeat)<\/p><\/div>\n

A planner hired by Liberty School Association would later testify that such a facility is an inherently beneficial use pursuant to New Jersey\u2019s Municipal Land Use Law, meaning in order for the application to be denied, board members would have to find the facility would create a \u201csubstantial detriment\u201d to the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no impacts that you typically find with land development that are negative,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The hearing will continue Oct. 1, 2024 at Civic Plaza, 270 Chambers Bridge Road, at 7 p.m. The hearing is being held at Civic Plaza due to the large size of the facility, which is required due to the level of public interest in the application.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A proposal to utilize an existing church in a residential neighborhood to house a facility that would allow home-schooled children to learn communally continues to face significant objections from residents, and the case will not be heard before the township\u2019s zoning board again until October. The Liberty School Association, created by Rebeka Snegon, a township […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,13],"tags":[24,4484,5138,5147,5275],"class_list":["post-24313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","category-brick-schools","tag-brick-nj-news","tag-featured","tag-fellowship-chapel","tag-liberty-school-association","tag-rebeka-snegon"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/IMG_3627-preview-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgt2Ft-6k9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}